MEDIA CONTACT:

Jim Connolly (jconnolly@yellowcabaustin.com)
President, Greater Austin Transportation Company
512-434-7711

 

Yellow Cab is named as a finalist in the “innovation category” of the 2006 Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce Business Awards

Austin, TX (August 12, 2006) Yellow Cab, an industry leader in the transportation field, is a finalist in the Sixth Annual Greater Austin Business Awards, presented by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.

Among the innovations that set Yellow Cab apart is its use of a computerized GPS dispatch system that matches the closest available taxi to the customer’s pick up location.

More innovations can be seen in the company’s infrastructures. The company moved its headquarters this year and significantly upgraded its critical communications infrastructures in the process. The upgrades include: fully redundant system capabilities to switch call taking and dispatch operations from Austin to sister companies in Houston or San Antonio in the event of an emergency; an Uninterruptible Power Supply that can maintain all critical operations for 30 minutes; and, an 80-kilowatt natural gas powered generator that is capable of running about 80% of the entire operation as long as necessary in the event of a long-term area power outage.

But the most striking innovation of the company’s year is Yellow Cab’s merger with Roy’s Taxi, which was approved by City Council in June and went into effect in early August. “There has been tremendous demand for the service we provide and sometimes we were unable to respond to every request for service,” said Jim Connolly, president of Yellow Cab. “By merging with Roy’s Taxi, Yellow Cab is able to put to use previously underutilized taxi permits and respond with greater efficiency to the needs of Greater Austin’s taxi riders.”

The Chamber will present the awards at an event that will be held Wednesday, August 30 from 5:30-9 p.m. at the Hilton Austin, 500 East Fourth Street. 

About Greater Austin Transportation Company

Greater Austin Transportation Company is the parent company of Yellow Cab, which is Austin’s only computer dispatched taxi fleet.  Serving the Austin area with high-tech transportation solutions since 1985, Yellow Cab’s taxi service is available 24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year.  All cabs are operated by independent contractor drivers and are equipped with digital cameras as well a Global Positioning System.  For more information, log onto www.YellowCabAustin.com or call (512) 452-9999